


Chatter of the lambs

by yer_a_wizard_watson



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Aspergers, Bullying, Friendship, Multi, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-02
Updated: 2014-05-07
Packaged: 2018-01-21 15:50:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1555769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yer_a_wizard_watson/pseuds/yer_a_wizard_watson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You see Will, they are merely lambs, chattering amongst themselves"</p><p>Will is already anxious returning to school but when new a new kid named Hannibal turns up and messes up his school life even more, Will doesn't know his mind is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First impressions

It was the first day back of the new school year and Will Graham was very nervous. He'd always hated a learning environment and how every teacher would patronise him with their smothering talk. It wasn't as if he was completely stupid, quite the contrary but he was ridiculed relentlessly by his peers. He put his glasses on and tugged on his favourite plaid jacket before grabbing his backpack off the door it was hanging on. He looked into his empty eyes in the mirror as he passed through the hallway of the orphanage. Madame Du Maurier was off on an errand this morning so she wouldn't be here to send him off. He felt very nervous and his hands were shaking and shaking and his stutter would be bad today and his hands were shaking; trembling as though the memory was coming back. There was a gun and he was holding it and his hands were shaking and-

"Will..?"

He turned to the sound, grateful of the distraction. It was Beverly, dark hair ruffled from sleep and still dressed in her pyjamas. She was still in Middle school so she had a few days to go before her new school term started. Will was envious of that. She stepped forwards and took his hand in hers, like she usually did. She looked up to Will as a sort of big brother at the orphan house. Of course there were others who lived here like Freddie, the ginger girl who was always listening in on your conversations and spying on people, and there was Alana, the sweet girl who Will kind of had a crush on. They'd all been here since they were really young except for Beverly and that was why she needed Will as a protector. "Yeah? I'm about to leave for school" Will said as he squeezed the younger one's hand. She smiled and hugged Will, who wrapped his arms around her. She then pulled back and placed something into his sweaty palm.

"What is it?", he asked, still looking at her rather than his hand. She motioned down too his palm with her head, where a key ring of a deer lay. It was a handmade one that she had probably made herself with a felt body and black beads for eyes. Will smiled and ruffled her hair before sliding it into the pocket of his jacket. "Thanks, kiddo". Beverly smiled at that and pulled her hand away and waved before walking back to her room, leaving him alone. Will smiled, almost forgetting where he was supposed to be heading. As soon as he thought of school, his smile faded and he left quickly before Beverly could think the loss of his smile was to do with the fact that he didn't like the deer.

 

*** 

"Hey, freak" _Oh great_ , thought Will, _it has already started_. The bullies started calling names at him as soon as he stepped through the gate and Will just sighed and bit his lip in frustration at not being able to do something. He was on his last warning for violence since his last violent outbreak. It was only thanks to Madame Du Maurier that he had dodged a two week suspension last time but this time he wasn't sure he'd be so lucky. And so he kept his head down and headed into his first class of the day, Psychology. He sat down at the back of the class but there was something different about today's class. There was another boy sitting in his usual seat. Change unsettled will so he had started to get irate just as the new boy came over to him and introduced himself.

"Is that your chair?" The boy asked and at first Will didn't understand what he was saying until he realised what it was that had started him; his accent wasn't that of Baltimore. Will nodded and ducked his head shyly; he wasn't good with people let alone strangers. "I'm terribly sorry," The boy said and motioned to the empty seat". Will smiled apologetically and went to turn back but then a hand was outstretched to him. "Hannibal Lecter", the boy said. Will stated his name and then, being the inquisitive person he is, asked what he was doing here. "My family moved from Lithuania last month and decided that it would be best for me to go to the local school this time" "This time?", Will asked, tilting his head. The classroom was filling up quite fast now and Will went back to his seat, still waiting for an answer. Hannibal sat down in the chair next to him and turned towards him. He was wearing a rather peculiar outfit; An ugly knitted jumper over suit trousers and trainers. Hannibal noticed Will staring and cleared his throat to get his attention. Will blushed and redirected his attention.

"I have been previously home educated so I am not very used to being at a public school but my mother thought I should come to one this time so I can learn to socialise better". Will could relate to that, he was awful at socializing thanks to his Asperger's. Will nodded and then the door opened and in walked last year's Psychology teacher, Mr Jack Crawford. The bags under his eyes were getting heavy. _Probably from all the late nights at the hospital with his wife_ , Will thought. Jack sighed audibly before putting down some papers on his desk. There was no need to introduce himself as he'd already taught this class so he skipped the intro. He scanned the large room with his eyes and looked over the abnormally large class of 40 students. His lessons were very popular and everyone wanted psychology on their timetable as it was the only interesting subject at the State high school.

"Alright, new kid, stand up. Say your name. You're nervous? So was everybody once, get up" Jack waved his hand as he said this to get Hannibal's attention. The new boy blushed and rose to his feet languidly. He smiled at his teacher before bowing his head to the class. The were were mutters across the sea of students and they weren't of very friendly words. Hannibal's smile faded and he looked a little disheartened by the reaction. And when he spoke, everyone laughed at his expense. Well, everyone except Will who sat with his face in a Stephen King novel as he did most lessons.

"My name is Hannibal Lecter and I'm from Lithuania. I enjoy watching documentaries of murders and reading crime fiction. Also, I've met a beautiful friend today". This caught Will's attention whose ears went red with embarrassment. _Did he really just say beautiful?_ The class erupted in laughter and Hannibal pouted with a look of confusion before sitting down again. He muttered something foreign before Jack told them all to flip to page 40.


	2. francium in water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will hates lunch time. It's loud, too busy and overwhelming so he spends it in the library, reading with his head down, pretending to be invisible.

Will usually spent lunch at the library, surrounded by books and away from civilisation. He preferred being alone as he disliked holding conversations. Despite his Aspergers, Will was fantastic at emphasising with others. He opened a dusty cover to a novel he found at the back of the mystery and horror genre shelf where he spent most of his lonesome school days. He was well into the third chapter before he heard the timid Lithuanian speak.

"Hannibal, what do you want?" Will asked as he closed to book cover over the words on the page. He was rather abrupt with the boy because he had interrupted him when the book was just getting good and he could picture all the characters and scenery, as if he was living the scene. "You see, friend, I'm lost," Hannibal said as he sat down in the beanbag next to Will. The beanbags were the school's latest investment but hardly anyone sat there except for the first years, like his orphan sister, Freddie. But Freddie wasn't here today. She was- will guessed- bunking off of school as she always did to beat the first day nerves (not that she ever admitted to them).

"What do you want me to do, give you a guided tour of every corner of the place?" Apparently Lecter couldn't detect his sarcasm and so that was how to the two boys: one enthusiastic and one grumbling, spent the lunch hour walking around the building. Will showed Hannibal where all his classes were for the rest of the day and where he could go when he had free periods. Will also told the foreign boy about teachers that were nice and ones that weren't so forgiving if you forgot your homework. Hannibal silently nodded throughout the tour, trying to absorb every bit of information like a sponge. _He's not like most kids_ , Will thought, _It's rather peculiar_. Even in the way he looked at people, Hannibal was different. He didn't simply look, he observed and stalked like a bird of prey, beady eyes watching his food walking to class. Will often had grim thoughts about murder and although he'd wanted to tell his therapist, he was afraid to. Will was afraid that if he mentioned it then it might happen like it did before. Will shook his head violently, visualising the bad thoughts scattering from his mind, out of his ear and leaving him to think on his own.

The bell rung then and Will clasped his hands over his ears, the ring exploding in his ears like francium to water. He felt someone's hands on his. Hannibal smiled at him sweetly as he looked up and gripped Will's hands tighter. He felt somewhat more comforted with the other boy's hands there and on this thought, he blushed and removed his hands. "th-thanks," Will stuttered, head down in embarrassment. Hannibal chuckled and patted Will's shoulder before walking away towards the wrong direction. He realised his mistake and smirked to himself before walking past Will without a 'goodbye' and heading to his Biology class. Will couldn't decide what Hannibal's motives were yet and whether he was what he portrayed himself to be.

_Still, if he had intentions to be hostile to me, surely he'd have shown some negativity towards me by now, right?_

Will shrugged as an answer to his own question and then headed to his worst class: English.

His teacher was the main cause of this. Dr Gideon wasn't anyone's favourite teacher and least of all Will's. He was always forcing Will to speak in front of the class, even though he knew of his social anxiety. The boy wasn't sure why he hated him so much when he would chuckle as Will tripped over the words and the class laughed along. Will spent 99.8% of the class sighing and the over 0.02% reading material that wasn't from the class. Dr Gideon would often snatch his copy of The Freudian Theory and confiscate it until the end of the week or stop the class to give him a row over his atomic bonds notebook. Will would just try to keep quiet and place the interesting book inside the book he was meant to be reading, so he wouldn't be caught. He despised his teacher. He wished he was normal so he could put his feelings aside and focus on work but how could he when so many dark thoughts were milling around in his head? His hands would sweat as he felt Gideon's stare on him, snide comments ready to roll of his poisonous tongue.

 It was already enough for him to try to focus on work when the clock was ticking and the birds outside were singing and the class was chattering and every single other noise bothered him down the hallway and the beeping of cell phones and shuffle of paper, but when Gideon spoke, he was distracted so much by his hate for the man that he just couldn't focus. He just wanted for him to go and one day when he did go, Will was glad.

He felt a surge of relief when Gideon was arrested and taken away.

It was a warm day, Will remembered, and as Gideon was lecturing about something that Will had no interest in, the phone rang. Gideon's eyes darted to the phone. He lost his track of thought, stuttered, and turned to answer it but, after a minute of hesitation, he decided against it. The teacher tried to pick up where he left off but he was now trembling. Will sighed and looked up at his teacher, expecting a mouth full of trouble but instead saw him shaking like a crispy leaf under a tree. His eyes, wide and his armpits damp, Gideon smiled nervously yet manically at the class. Will was intrigued. He'd never seen Gideon get like this before, as if he'd completely lost his usual cool composure and it bothered him like an itch inside of his bones. "Well class, I must be leaving," Gideon rose, wrapped a scarf around his neck and smiled tightly before walking briskly down the hall. Several students looked at each other and some tried to follow him, Will being one of these people. But, Gideon was running now, heading towards the stairs. It wasn't really that Will cared much for what had happened to his English teacher. It was more to do with the fact that he had a very curious mind and he wanted to know. But, when he reached the stairs, Gideon was gone and so was his hope of an answer to ease his anxious mind.


End file.
